Fashion Chat: Gossip Girl’s Costume Designer Eric Daman

On the eve of Gossip Girl‘s 100th episode—next Monday, set your DVR—we caught up with costume designer Eric Daman to discuss the roughly 20,000 looks he’s styled for the show so far:

We all remember all the staple, iconic outfits from the show’s first seasons: Serena’s buttery leather jackets and uniform plaid skirts, Blair’s jeweled headbands. But what are some of your favorite more recent looks?
From last season, I loved the girls’ outfits when they first got to Paris, like Serena’s Georges Chakra crystal cage dress topped with a Rag & Bone jacket. We were using couture as daywear, because I feel like Serena in Paris would rock that. And Blair’s cherry print Moschino dress…so old world Brigitte Bardot!

And this season?
The wedding dress! As far as fashion moments, it’s not going to get bigger than that.

Aside from the obvious (Jenny ditching her Constance uniforms for ripped tights and motorcycle jackets), how have the characters’ styles changed throughout the seasons?
Their outfits evolve with their age and the atmosphere they’re in. When Blair got to NYU, she was wearing a lot of Narciso Rodriguez and Victoria Beckham as a sort of a coat of armor since she was in this new, unfamiliar place. And in seasons three and four, Serena wore a lot of body-conscious dresses, but now her look is more professional.

How many outfits do you style per show?
That really varies, but per season, we style between 3,000 and 5,000 outfits.

So we’ve noticed that the female characters never wear a piece of clothing more than once, no matter how amazing it is. But are there any accessories you keep in rotation and frequently use?
Never! Except for the guys, because really, how many gray Dior or Dolce & Gabanna suits do you need? And that logic especially makes sense for Dan. But as for the girls, Blair’s ring is the most constant thing in the show. Everything else needs to be new.

Any ultra-popular trend you’d never put the girls in?
I feel like denim is really popular: denim tuxedos, chambray shirts. But we don’t really do denim on the girls.

You’ve had some great fashion industry guest stars recently. Anyone else you’d personally like to see on the show?
Someone really established and old guard, like Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren. But we’ve been so lucky—we already had Diane von Furstenberg on the Fashion’s Night Out episode.

If Serena and Blair had to pick one New York Fashion Week show to go to each, what would it be?
Serena would go to Alexander Wang. Blair would go to Ralph Lauren.